Sport fishing is rooted in antiquity. Even when his existence depended upon success in catching fish, man found pleasure in that pursuit. Early man saw the advantage of using a rod (stick or branch) which allowed him to reach over river banks to where the fish were located, thus giving the name of angling to sport fishing.
One of the basic methods of angling which has been practiced for thousands of years is fly-fishing. In fly-fishing an artificial fly, insect or imitation of other natural food is used to lure the fish. In Roman times it was written of how the Macedonians caught trout on artificial flies.
The history of fishing as a sport is said to have really started with the printing at Westminster by Wynkyn de Wrode in 1496 of the "Treatyse of Fysshynge Wyth an Angle", thought to have been written by Dame Juliana Berners.
In fact six of the dozen artificial flies mentioned in the "Treatyse" are still in use.
The artificial fly is presented to the fish by means of a flexible rod and a thick, heavy line for casting weight. The lines are tapered, with the end nearest the fly made very fine to allow a delicate presentation. Attached to the end of the line is a section of nylon monofilament (called a leader) which may also be tapered throughout its length. The fly or flies are attached to the end of the leader. The artificial fly is cast by a combination of the springlike action of the rod and the weight of the line.
There are a number of different methods of fly-fishing but broadly they are based on the behavior of certain insects that spend most of their life in the water but have a short life in the air close to the lake or river.
The most important species of flies to the fly-fisher are the up-winged or mayflies (Ephemeroptera), the caddis or sedge flies (Tricoptera) and the midges (Diptera). All these flies spend most of their life in the water as nymphs, grubs, and pupae and form a substantial part of the diet of trout and other insectivorous fish. At the appropriate time of the year they swim to the surface, where they shed their underwater skins and emerge as winged insects. They remain on the surface of the water until their wings are strong enough, then they fly to dry land. Mating takes place in the air. The females later return to the water to lay their eggs either in or on it.
Trout feed on these insects during all the stages when the insect is available to them, and the angler seeks to imitate their appearance and behavior in order to deceive his quarry. He is therefore either fishing his artificial fly in the water at various levels, known as nymph fishing or wet fly fishing, or on the surface, known as dry fly fishing.
It is often difficult to identify the fly which is hatching, since its shape, size and coloration may be obscure when seen at a distance. To facilitate identification the fisherman tries to capture the insect that he desires to imitate, preferably without harming it.
In the prior art this has been done with bulky nets that are burdensome to carry. Often the insect escapes from these nets before it has been inspected. Another device in the prior art for capturing insects utilizes two rigid flaps which may be folded together to capture the insect therebetween. This device usually damages the insect. Further it must be operated in the proximity of the insect giving it an appreciable warning of imminent danger, thereby providing the insect with a fair chance to avoid capture.
It is an object of this invention to provide a net that is easily carried and allows harmless capture of an insect at a distance.